Review: Love, Hate, Disappointment, Forgiveness -- ANNAPURNA Plumbs the Depths of Human Relationships, at Third Rail

What would you do if the wife who left you 20 years ago in the middle of the night, and who you've loved and and hated ever since, showed up at your door?

What would you do if you found out that the husband you left 20 years ago, and who you've loved and hated ever since, was dying?

This is the situation in which Emma and Ulysses find themselves in Sharr White's ANNAPURNA, an intimate theatrical pas de deux now playing at Third Rail Repertory Theatre. Emma shows up at Ulysses' home, a trailer park in the middle of nowhere, to find him sick, broke, and naked (save an apron -- but only because he's cooking). Over the next roughly 100 minutes, Emma and Ulysses hash out the past 20 years, their unresolved feelings for each other, and why she left that night, taking their son with her.

ANNAPURNA is just two people in one room over the course of a few hours. But in that time, it travels the breadth and depth of human relationships, with all of the love, passion, disillusionment, and messiness that entails.

If you can't tell already, I loved this play.

The script is beautiful -- elegantly articulating the deepest of emotions. At the same time, the dialogue is so natural that it doesn't feel overly crafted at all. It's just exactly right. Director Isaac Lamb brings out the poetry of the words and the emotion that fuels them through a masterful use of silence. There's a lot of white space in this show, illustrating that sometimes, even in a play, some things are beyond words.

If you're going to put two people in a room for almost two hours, you need to have the right two people. Karen Trumbo and Bruce Burkhartsmeier are the right two people. They've known each other for decades, which must have helped in establishing the intimacy between the characters. Burkhartsmeier is particularly moving as he breaks down both physically and emotionally over the course of the show. I'd like to nominate him for a Drammy, a BroadwayWorld Regional Theatre Award, and any other award available for one of the best performances I've ever seen. When you go, be sure to stay for the talkback, both because they are always fascinating, and to see the incredible contrast between Burkhartsmeier and the character he plays.

Finally, Kaye Blankenship's set, which is made to look like a mobile home (running water and everything), is perfect for this intimate show. Rather than the normal proscenium seating at Imago Theatre, the stage is in the middle, with only three rows of seats on each side. The effect is that, as an audience member, you feel like you're in the room with Ulysses and Emma, taking their emotional journey right along with them.

I highly recommend you see ANNAPURNA. If possible, see it with someone you love so you'll have someone to laugh with (did I mention it's funny?), cry with, and inhabit some contemplative quiet space with when you get home.

ANNAPURNA runs through August 27. Details and tickets here.

Photo credit: Owen Carey

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